


Black Sheep

by xXthe_mortality_of_deathXx



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Absent Parents, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Major Original Character(s), Mates, Multi, Original Character(s), Panic Attacks, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Slow Burn, Temporary Character Death, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:20:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27809788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXthe_mortality_of_deathXx/pseuds/xXthe_mortality_of_deathXx
Summary: "send you my love on a wire"If you were to ask the people of Forks, Washington what they knew about Faith Addams, they wouldn't be able to tell you much.The few things that they could tell you are that her parents went missing two years ago, you can always find her sitting in the woods after school and that she's an outsider at Forks High SchoolNo one cares to know why.To them, she'll always be a black sheep.(Crossposted on Wattpad)
Relationships: Alice Cullen/Jasper Hale, Alice Cullen/Jasper Hale/Original Female Character(s), Alice Cullen/Original Female Character(s), Jasper Hale/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61





	1. Accidental Encounters

**Author's Note:**

> Faith arrives at school to find there has been a mysterious death in town. Rumours start that she's somehow involved. In her stress, she bumps into two people she's only ever observed from afar.

After arriving at school late because sleeping in for too long, something Faith believed she could remedy by walking quickly and riding on her skateboard. This plan was foiled by having to take a different route to school than her usual route through the woods as there were police stationed near its entrance. By the time she got to school and emptied her belongings into her locker. She was already sick of the long day ahead of her and it had barely even begun, she was exhausted and wanted it to be over.

This left her to daydream in her classes, completely uninterested learning or listening to the gossip of the students seated near; in fact, Faith physically has to stop herself from falling asleep during her biology class. When this happened the teacher looked at her briefly, asking her if she wanted to go to the nurse, she gives him a small smile and waves him off before looking blankly at the board. He takes this as his cue to continue to drone on to the class about whatever they are currently studying, to be honest, she's not sure she really cares.

This seems to be her attitude towards most of her subjects lately and Biology is no exception to this. It might have been better, had she someone to talk to during her classes, but over the years the students of Forks High School have shown to not want to spend more time in her company than they needed to. It took her a while to accept that to be the case, but she's used with it now. Besides, she only needs to be there until the end of the year, so she can graduate, then she'll be able to do whatever she wants and get out of this stupid small town.

As the class goes on she finds herself more and more disinterested in the topic being taught until she's almost asleep face down on her desk. The intercom blaring from the front of the classroom wakes her from her sleep-deprived daze.

"AUTHORITIES HAVE DISCOVERED A BODY BEHIND THE SUPERMARKET, THE CAUSE OF DEATH IS CURRENTLY UNKNOWN BUT A SPOKESPERSON HAS STATED THAT AUTHORITIES BELIEVE IT TO BE THE RESULT OF AN ANIMAL ATTACK. ALL STUDENTS ARE ADVISED NOT TO TRAVEL ALONE AND AVOID SECLUDED AREAS IF POSSIBLE. STAY SAFE."

As the teacher attempts to settle the now chattering class Faith stops to think, nothing has happened in Forks since the Swan girl moved there a while ago. Something in her own option wasn't much to get excited about. It's not like she hated Bella, she seemed nice and always smiled at her in the hallways, her arrival was just another overhyped thing Faith couldn't be bothered to care about. She tapped her fingers and refocused her mind on the announcement, one thing she found interesting about it was the mention of staying away from areas like the woods, her usual way home.

She quickly decided that this was bullshit and that she would ignore the warning, as she wasn't scared of an animal. Suddenly another thought made its way into her mind, what would an animal be doing that far into the town? She quickly dismissed this, there were heaps of plausible reasons for it to be in town, maybe it was hungry and looking for food in a dumpster when someone stumbled across it and frightened it.

Faith, lost in thought, continued to drift through what might have happened to the body that the police found until she was rudely drawn out of her daydream by the bell ringing to signify lunch. She quickly packs up her materials and mutters a quiet thank you to the teacher before joining the cluster of students filing out of the classroom. Entering the hallway Faith puts her headphones and fiddles with her mp3 player, after skipping a few songs she finds the perfect song and makes her way to her too tiny locker.

After putting her stuff into her locker and grabbing the lunch she had rushed to pack earlier in the day, Faith began the trek that is walking through the school cafeteria. Walking this route had always been a challenge because of the rumours that had followed her throughout her high school life, and today was no different. Walking swiftly through this area worked for Faith a majority of the time but apparently, her classmates had other ideas today.

"I bet that freak Faith was the one to kill that guy they found." Faith turned her head towards the source of the voice to see that it came from Jessica Stanley, she wasn't surprised

"Don't be rude; besides, the police say an animal killed him." Faith perked up when she heard that and looked towards who had said it, Bella, of course.

It's not like there weren't things to find weird about Faith, there definitely were. For instance, she finds the interests of her classmates quite boring. Faith much preferred the thrill of collecting objects during her trips into the woods and cataloguing her finds compared to the loud parties and meddling in the business of those who do not concern you that seemed to be enjoyed by most her age. She pushed these thoughts aside, it seemed so silly to hate someone for something that didn't hurt anyone but that was beside the point right now, she needed to get out and have a smoke. This day was way too much for her so far.

"Ignore them and keep moving" was Faith's internal chant; "it will only get worse if you try to deny it." So that's what she did, she ignored the fury that bubbled beneath her skin and kept walking until she made her way to her favourite spot behind the school. She sits and reaches into her pocket to pull a cigarette out of the packet she has stuffed there for when she's feeling stressed. She often worried about their negative effects but today she didn't care.

"It's not like I'm addicted", she thinks to herself. As she brought the cigarette to her lips the song in her ears changed. She lights the end of the cigarette and inhales the smoke to try and clear her mind. She settles into a calmness that sadly only brings her back to the topic of the mysterious animal attack. It's too strange for her not to dwell on, she exhales before drifting even deeper into thought.

"Hey you know those aren't good for you right?"

The sudden break in the silence she was previously residing in catches Faithoff guard, causing her to choke on the smoke residing in her mouth. She coughs and splutters before quickly attempting to put the cigarette out on the slightly damp grass, fearful that she had been caught smoking by a staff member.

She couldn't risk them calling her foster mother again, it would be the third time this semester. It's all Faith would hear from her for weeks and besides, her mom didn't know that Faith has been stealing cigarettes from her when she's out.

The voice doesn't say anything else so she rules out it being a teacher here to get her in trouble. She looks up to investigate the owner of the voice and finds it to belong to Jasper Hale, one of the infamous Cullen clan. Her expression hardens, confused as to why he's bothering to talk to her and ready to get up and leave if need be.

"Why do you care?" She mutters holding eye contact brazenly, why was Jasper even out here? He wasn't a smoker to her knowledge.

His eyebrows raise at her tone as he lets out a small chuckle. He looks down at her before responding, "I was just looking out for a fellow classmate."

Faith mutters a small "Yeah right."

He seems to understand her humour, giving another small laugh before moving to sit down next to her. Faith simply watches as he uses the wall to help maneuver himself onto the patchy grass and into a sitting position. She stares at him, utterly bewildered by this entire interaction, with one of Forks Highschool's most talked about. He reaches out a hand for her to shake, as they touch, she feels a weight lift from her shoulders.

"I'm Jasper"

"Oh I know who you are, you and your siblings have been the talk of the school ever since you arrived" He looks at her, and for the tiniest second Faith almost thinks he's embarrassed, she quickly dismisses this thought before adding, "I'm Faith, if you didn't already know, though you've probably heard one of the many rumours floating around." She pauses once letting out a sheepish smile, "they aren't true by the way."

He nods in acknowledgment and they fall into in a strange, yet comfortable silence. Faith pulls out her food and quietly eats it. This continues for quite a while before Faith turns her head away from him and laughs softly, Jasper looks at Faith with confusion in his eyes, mirroring her confusion from earlier, as he waits for her to give him an explanation.

"Sorry it's just this is the longest I've been around someone without them making fun of me in a while," she pauses to look of vaguely into the distance, "I kinda forgot what it felt like" She laughs again to herself before packing her things and standing up and dusting off any stray blades of grass that might have gotten stuck to her pants. She picks up her untouched sandwich before looking down at him, "We'll have to do this again sometime."

He nods and waves to her when she turns around and walks in the school building.

Faith put this interaction into the back of her mind for the rest of the day, too many things going on in Forks and not enough time to think about them all to waste time thinking about a weird encounter with one of the popular kids. Her thoughts were so muddled because of this that it took her until the last bell of the day to get her head straight. When the bell did ring she picked up her things quickly and made her way back to her locker one without interruption.

Once she reached her locker she grabbed the supplies she would need for homework and her skateboard before putting her headphones back in and walking swiftly through the corridors in time with the beat until she was out of the school building.

Faith walks erratically, in a slight daze, focusing more on moving to the beat of the song then where she was going, this leads her to walk straight into a girl with fae-like features, causing both parties belongings to come crashing down to the ground with a hard thump, she can't believe her luck. She takes her headphones off her head as she bends down and starts to pick up the mysterious woman's items carefully, aiming to not inflict more damage on them then she had already.

"I am so sorry," Faith mutters as she begins stacking her own dropped books, "I wasn't paying enough attention to where I was walking, too caught up in thought I guess."

"It's fine, I wasn't paying attention either." The voice says from above, "Don't worry about picking those up, they'll be okay"

Faith looks at the strangers' shoes with an ashamed look and slightly flushed cheeks; she can feel the stares of people surrounding her, probably wondering how the weirdo can be such a klutz. When she finally gathers the courage to investigate who she bumped into, she puts a name to the face quickly. She just had to bump into a Cullen.

Alice Cullen stood there looking down at Faith with a gentle smile and an outstretched hand. Faith grasps the offering and manoeuvres herself off the ground, slowly as to not bring the small girl down to the ground with her.

"I think that this is the part where u tell me I should get lost," Faith says with a pained laugh, "You better get on with it quickly, everybody's staring." The humour in her voice is gone as she looks around at the crowd that is trying and failing to pretend that they aren't interested in the unusual interaction happening between the two girls. Alice shoots them a small glare and the crowd disperses quickly.

"Let them think whatever they want, you seem nice." The girl says with what faith believes is genuine kindness, she can't tell, "My name is Alice, you probably already know that though," she laughs gently before continuing, "Yours?"

"Faith."

"I like it," Alice pauses for a moment to think, "It suits you." She looks behind her, Faith's eyes follow her line of sight, she's looking at her siblings who are waiting for her in the car park. She notices Jasper, in particular, has a look in his eyes that she can't quite understand. Alice looks back at Faith before continuing the conversation. "I have to get going, I'm sure we'll see each other around more often from now on."

All Faith can do is give a weak nod as the petite girl quickly waves back before turning around and making her way towards her sibling. Faith is now utterly confused at the way her day has gone. She shrugs away her confusion before running down the stairs and onto the footpath and hopping atop her skateboard.

She makes sure to keep her head up to avoid another collision as skates fluidly down the footpaths that lead to the entrance of the forest. Her cheeks remain slightly flushed from her encounter with Alice earlier.

Faith can't help but laugh as she wonders what the chance of meeting two Cullens is one day is. She pushes this thought to the back of her mind as she continues the journey to the makeshift forest path she follows to get home.


	2. Paranoia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faith finds herself paranoid and forgetting important things as the animal attacks continue.

Faith's eyelids feel heavy as the light of the morning sun filters through her sheer curtains. The pale rays streamed into the room and onto her face, a sort of alarm telling her the night had passed and made way for the haze of a new day. It must be time to get out of bed. She briefly bristles at the thought before settling and stretching her limbs. Her mind is foggy with sleep as she begins to collect her thoughts and process the events to the previous day. First a dead body and then two of the strangest interactions she'd had in her high school experience...

The sudden turn of events left Faith bitter at the thought of going to school for the day. 

Faith shoves the covers off her body, wincing at the feeling of cool air suddenly touching her bare arms. The pit of worry that had made its home in her stomach the night before momentarily forgotten as she begins to get ready for another day in her own personal hell. Her feet pad lightly on the cool hardwood floor as she gets out of her bed and walks to her dresser in search of clothes for the day. She decides on her usual grungy style, just an old pair of dark wash jeans, a band shirt she stole from her dad's closet, a flannel and her favourite pair of beat-up black converse.

She walks out of her room and into the small kitchen of the house. She smells the scent of eggs being cooked before she can see or hear the other occupant of the house, her guardian Mia. Mia- a small woman with medium-toned skin, brown eyes, dark hair and a kind smile- had been a constant force in Faith's life ever since she was a child but they had become closer when she moved in to take care of Faith, after her parents' disappearance, as the girl was too young to live alone. 

Because of the suddenness of the Addams family disappearance and the lack of any other immediate family, Mia, one of her parents sole family friends, was the only one able to take care of the now orphaned teenager. Mia was a good enough temporary parent to the young girl but Faith, emotions still raw from the loss of her family, couldn't find it in herself to get too close to the woman.

It wasn't that Faith held any dislike for Mia. If she thought she could love her like she did her parents she definitely would, the wounds left by her parents when they went missing still felt as fresh as the day she heard the news, feelings of loss playing her mind as a constant reminder of what could happen when you got close to people.

Faith hadn't had any siblings and never managed as her social skills weren't very developed and she preferred to keep to herself, especially without her parents there to guide her. She was never really liked by her peers, but her parents' sudden disappearance and her flighty and seemingly apathetic demeanour had ushered in a whole new wave of trouble for her at school. Fork's may have seemed like a cute and quiet town but the gossip machine worked as well as any big city.

"Faith, I cooked for us, come to the kitchen!"

Faith gives Mia a small smile of gratitude before walking towards the table and grabbing some of the food that had been prepared. She starts to eat her food quietly, attempting to keep conversation to a minimum while she was so deep in her thoughts. She pauses briefly before resting her fork and looking towards Mia.

"Did you hear about the body they found in town yesterday?"

The glimmer in Mia's eyes faded as she turned sombre, "Yes," the older woman pauses as she gathers her words, "I received a call from Chief Swan letting me know about it before it got on the news," her eyes drift down as a small sigh leaves her lips, she shifts slightly on the balls of her feet as she feels the heat of Faith's gaze. "he didn't want us to assume the worst, I was going to tell you last night but you were asleep by the time I got home." Faith pauses in disbelief, mind spinning. She had been so consumed by her strange day and chance meetings of some of the Cullen clan that she hadn't even considered what the older woman was insinuating. Her body shivers at the realization.

"Oh."

Faith grabs her plate stiffly and takes it to the sink, her mind completely overwhelmed by the new information. She knows she should be happy that the outcome was not the worst and that the body was not one of her parents but she couldn't help but be frustrated by herself for not even considering the body's possible identity the day before.

Mia's voice rings distantly in her ears as she grabs her bag and strides towards the door, a sudden desire to escape, to be anywhere but here. Faith pays no mind to the older woman's worried eyes and comforting words her mind spinning with self-hatred. As the door slams behind her, she lets out a breath she didn't realise she was holding. How could she be so thoughtless?

This question plagues her mind until she's made it a fair distance away from the house. She pauses a moment to observe where she had gotten herself to in her blind worry. Observing her surroundings she realised she was luckily still on track to get to school and hopefully bury the unrelenting worry she was feeling under a mountain of work.

This thought kept her on track for a few minutes as her mind began to feel clearer. She looks to her feet avoiding the cracks of the pavement to keep quiet the building dread that was consuming her. A small pothole on the path takes her thoughts in a different direction, her eyes flying up as she pulls out her phone.

She was not going to get to school on time.

Faiths pace speed up at the implications of being late, she already had too many absences this semester and being late the day after a death in their sleepy little town would surely not reflect well on the black sheep of Fork's teenage population.

She had hoped to avoid the woods today, wanting to stay on the main roads and avoiding isolated areas so as to not worry her guardian but there was no way she would get to school on time otherwise.

Faith contemplates this briefly before deciding there was nothing else to do and turning off the sidewalk and onto the dinghy hikers' trail that took her towards the school quicker than any winding footpath could.

Her eyes drift slightly as she walks, not too worried but wary of things that may be hiding inside the deep brush of the woods. She had to be careful, for her guardian's sake at least. Halting in a small clearance of the hiking trail she catches her breath and checks her phone only to discover she was making much better time than she had expected. Good, if she keeps moving at this rate she shouldn't be too late.

The wind picks up suddenly causing a few nearby bushes to shake gently. The girl lets out a small shiver as she rubs the back of her neck slightly, feeling almost as if eyes were staring into her form. She shakes herself out of her stupor quickly and picks up into a slight jog continuing down the woodland path, her mind much more alert than when she had begun her journey.

\---

Faith's somewhat foolhardy detour had paid off, arriving only slightly late and narrowly avoiding detention from her first-period teacher.

"Alright class glad you could all make it, even if some of you weren't exactly... punctual" the small pause combined with some stray snickers from around the room makes Faith feel slightly ill but she pushes the feeling down and takes out her work. Hopefully getting busy with work would ease the sense of dread that was slowly building in her stomach.

After the days less than stellar start Faith quickly falls into a routine of completing her work quietly and quickly. Her teacher's words floating through her head as she sits through all of her classes. The almost robotic routine focusing her on anything else but her anxieties.

She's only broken out her extreme focus when she here's the sound of the announcement bell, something that is quickly becoming more menacing then she had previously thought possible. Once the announcement finished, the whispers began, theories and accusations being thrown around the room like nothing she had seen recently. She shook her head and reached to the back of her neck again, clammy hands tangling themselves in her dark hair once again feeling eyes boring into her form. Wildly unnerved eyes flicker around in hope of a source when none is to be found she slumps into her chair and groans quietly.

Hopefully, some fresh air and a smoke would smother the unease that was loudly growing in her intestines.

She was out of the classrooms as soon as the bell rang, this whole situation felt incredibly off to her but she had yet to be able to place the reason why. Forks was never this eventful a few years ago, some cheating maybe? a car crash or two? but something like this was just unheard of for Forks.

Faith sighed a breathy, unsteady sigh as she smoothed down her slightly unkempt hair, it would all be resolved soon, it had to be. Shaking her head quickly she makes her way through the halls weaving in and out of the nameless blobs she considered her cohort, aiming to stay out of trouble for enough time to get her things and get the fuck out of the oppressive atmosphere that was smothering the air inside the building.

Faith reaches her locker without much resistance. Reaching into its depths she begins collecting her things for lunch. She wouldn't need much, just her food and her cigarettes. She slams the door shut and put the lock back on with downcast eyes.

This day had not been great so far. 

As she turns to leave Faith's dusty green eyes suddenly meet gold. She lets out a small shriek at the new figure stepping back to create some distance between the two of them. She opens her eyes and re-evaluates the situation, seeing the lithe Cullen girl standing where the door of her locker had previously been, leaning against the metal lockers, a small smirk displayed on her face. Faith breathes heavily reclining in her shock was how long had Alice been there? Faith certainly hasn't seen her standing there when she had gotten to her locker.

"Hi Alice, you-you gave me quite a fright, " she gave an awkward chuckle not wanting to talk to anyone after the mediocre day she had been having, "I didn't think I would run into you again so soon," If anything Faith had quietly been wondering if their encounter would be a new topic of bullying within the next few days, it wouldn't be the first time. "I can't say that running into someone and causing them to drop their things is a very pleasant introduction."

Alice gives a small, warm chuckle that makes Faith bristle in surprise, her cheeks flush a dusty, embarrassed pink. Most of her classmates would have held an interaction like that against her. 

"I think it was a fine introduction," she pauses as if stuck in thought, the hesitation makes Faith gnaw at her lip in worry. "Very memorable..."

Faith barely suppresses the grimace that rises to her face, even if Alice hadn't thought much of the situation Faith's mind still burned with worry about it. She didn't want the school year to be any harder than it had to be, and that meant no new enemies. Her eyes fall downcast once again as she attempts to regain her demeanour, beginning to walk away from the situation. 

Alice seems to catch Faith's reluctance and drops her attempt at conversation, falling gently into step behind Faith, an action that only further cements the worry building inside the unpopular girl. As they reach the cafeteria Faith turns back taking in Alice's slightly worried expression, why would she be worried? She's probably just going to use this to mock me to her friends anyway. Her eyes flicker back into the schoolroom as her face burns with the feeling of being watched from all sides. She had to get out of here before she started feeling sick again.

Muttering a quiet apology to Alice, in a small attempt to counteract the coldness she had just been presenting, she turns and fleas out of the crowded room and away from prying eyes. God, she needed that cigarette

\---

Faith laughs a short cruel laugh as she puts her cigarette to her lips slowly drawing the smoke through the opening and into her lungs. When she was walking through the lunchroom she could feel their stares again and she hated it. Cold and cynical, raking her body for anything they felt was out of place, something they could use to confirm their already determined suspicions of her role in the town's latest mystery. It felt too much like it had when her parents left and all she wanted was for it to stop.

Her classmates were always quick to pin things on her, a dead animal in someone's garden, a fight breaking out between some students. They had been doing this to her ever since she was younger, it was easy to pin things on the anti-social girl in the back of the class, so that's exactly what they did.

Her breathing picks up as small tears prick in the corners of her eyes at the thought of her past, it was her last year of high school, she only had to keep her head down and survive school for a few more months, just until graduation, then, she would be free. There was no need for her to get caught up in gossip again. No more reason to cry. Those thoughts calmed her slightly, breathing in shakily she takes another drag of her cigarette. Her mind falling into an uneasy relaxation as she rests her head against the cold bricks of the wall behind her.

Her mood is ruined when she feels eyes on her again, head shooting up from its resting spot rigidly, frantic eyes looking around to see if there was anyone out with her. Misty fog obscured her vision of the thick woods surrounding the area behind the school, the eyes remained focused in her direction, unrelenting.

A shiver rattles her body as she quickly begins packing up her belongings and throwing her cigarette to the floor, the damp grass snuffing it almost immediately. She shoves the rest of her belongings into her bag and falls into a quick walk as she advances on the exterior door, the anonymous gaze following her every movement.

As the door swings shut behind her she looks back through its glass cutout, curiosity getting the better of her, desperate for any confirmation that it wasn't just in her head. For a moment, Faith swears she could see two blinks of red.

\---

Faith makes her way through the rest of the day in a haze of paranoia, her experience from before having shaken her greatly. Sitting inside the school unable to shake the feeling of being watched she felt like an experiment under observation and she hated it.

She turns slightly from her position staring at her desk and faces the teacher whos' class she was currently annoying, it wouldn't help her if she got another detention so she might as well pretend to be listening. The feeling of being watched only gaining in intensity every moment she sits there. 

She attempts this for a few minutes before her paranoia becomes too much again causing her to retreat to where she was previously. Her mind mulling over continuingly darker thoughts at a quick pace. Her eyes grow damp again as she grips the material of her pants trying to suppress the panic attack she could feel building inside her. 

She gasps quietly as she feels a tight pain in the back of her mind, sharp and probing, like a comb being dragged across her skull. Gripping her head with her hands she looks around the room frantically for a source, but the pain is too much to bear, her eyes unable to focus on finding the culprit. Faith's breath feels heavy in her body Her hand shoots up shakily as she utters a request to go to the nurse's office.

Grabbing her things quickly she races out the door as her mind burns hot from the pain. In her rush, she doesn't notice the whispers of the class or the small frowns that had made their way on the faces of the two students sitting at the desk behind hers, their eyes locking in a shared confusion.

The male of the pairs' brows are knitted, mouth slightly agape as he tries to figure out how Faith could have felt him trying to get into her thoughts. He wasn't attempting to pry too deeply, only attempting to find the source of the girls' frantic paranoia that had been seeping from her for the better part of a day, a powerful feeling that was putting his volatile, emotion-sensitive brother on edge every time Faith got within range of him. The girl had never been on his radar previously but this was certainly an interesting development.

The other half of the pair had her brows knitted in a kind, worried confusion that mirroring the males in intensity. Bella didn't know the Adams girl well but she couldn't help but worry for her. Especially after she noticed how panicked the girl had been looking recently. Bella's kind heart ached at the expression she had seen on Faith's face as she searched the room, pure terror had painted the brown-haired girls' features.

Faith's feet hit the floor rapidly as she races out of the classroom, her breathing laboured but the pain slowly subsiding. She pauses after she had made it out of the school building, mind racing as she used the outer door for balance. There was no way she was going to go back for the last few minutes of the period. She collected her thoughts - the pain being completely dispelled by that point -, and started walking home, completely exhausted by what was supposed to be a somewhat normal school day.


	3. The Open Window

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faith becomes more paranoid, Jasper sees and tries to help.

_She hears the bushes behind her move and her legs take off into a sprint without a second thought. Her already torn clothes tearing more as she brushes against branches and thorns violently. She wants to stop, to take a breath, to cry, but she can’t, not as long as the thing that is hunting through these woods is still tailing her so closely. Her feet pick up speed at the thought, her mind screaming against her body to keep going, no matter the pain. Whatever was behind her would surely be more of an issue than some scrapes, should it catch up to her._

_A scream rips from her throat as her foot catches a large tree root that had grown through the dirt of the makeshift path. She was no longer on the usual rundown hiking trail she knew so well, no longer could she rely on her past knowledge of these parts, not now that whatever was following her had pushed her farther and farther into the woods._

_She lets out another cry as she tumbles and hits the ground near the root, this part of the woods less walked than her usual route, the dirt so much grittier than that of the paths further to the edge of the forest. Dirt and moss digging into the brutal scrapes that had been etched into her knees thanks to the sharp rocks that also accompanied the dirt of the forest floor. Another rustle snaps her out of her pain, she needs to hurry up and get moving again. Her hands reach down to brush some of the dirt in an attempt to assess the damage of her wounds, her pursuer waits for no one, the sounds continue to close in on her._

_Quickly, at the prompting of a rustle that sounded a bit too close to her current location than could ever be comfortable she vaults to her feet and takes off into a sprint once again. Attempting to run in the opposite direction of where she heard the vicious mystery last sounds of movement. Well, where she thinks she heard movement, with her pulse thumping in her ears and her ragged breathing filling the silence of the nature around her she could only be so sure._

_Her mind continues its flight or fight song as her running leads her to a dead-end, her mind on autopilot so lost in the motions that she runs straight into a large wall of petrified tree and rock. Her body collides with the surface so hard she rebounds backwards, losing balance and hitting the hard ground once again, her hands and head taking the blow this time. Taking deep breaths she tries to regain the wind that had abruptly left her lungs seconds prior, her head spinning in what she suspects may be a concussion._

_Once again she's snapped out of her daze by a noise close by to her, head jolting from side to side in order to try and figure out where the noise comes from she only makes her dizzies worse, losing even more of her minimal balance she slumps down slightly. Her mind goes blank as fear takes hold of her shivering body._

_She tries to do something, anything to get away, but her limbs are heavy as the figure makes its way through the trees and begins to approach. Her breaths are all she can hear as panic takes a hold of her synapses, too many connections all going off at the same time. She often gets panic attacks, something she's currently learning doesn't really help with life or death situations._

_The figure is only centimetres away from her now leaning towards her with predatory intent. Something on its face glints in the moonlight but she’s too stricken with fear to try and figure out what she is even seeing. Red eyes meet green, one filled with glee and the others unfocused with pupils blown wide. She tries to move but she's frozen to the spot._

_The figure begins to close the distance between them, a smile of malice playing across their face in an almost mocking manner as if they had known this whole time that her escape attempt would be a failure. Maybe they did know that. She couldn't be certain anymore._

_She begins to think that maybe this THING had known the outcome of its chase all along, that it was merely toying with its prey. In a cruel game of cat and mouse._

_Suddenly there's a wetness on her neck, slimy and warm, she thinks it might be a tongue but she's not lucid enough to be sure. A pressure builds quickly in her mind. Like static on a television set. Her senses become overwhelmed as the creature before her prepares to strike its prey. It builds and builds and builds and then,_

_Nothing._

Faith wakes from the prison her mind had created in her dreams, in a cold sweat. Her clothing, completely soaked by perspiration Had she been sweating that much overnight? Her mind a hazy mess of emotions she can't yet decipher. Fear? She wonders as wondering is all she can do in the moment. No matter how hard she tries to remember she fails, the dream isn't clear enough for her to recall any of its events.

She picks herself up off of her bed slowly, still attempting to process something her mind seems to be adamant about forgetting. She begins to flatten some of the creases on the comforter laying on top of her in an attempt to calm her racing heart. Her back pressing into the pillows behind her as she takes deep breaths to regulate her erratic breathing. Her attempts calm her somewhat initially but the fear of the unknown takes hold and she's quickly lost to her own worry. She sits there in her cavern of disarray trying to recall something, anything about the dream that has her so worked up. Nothing comes to her, her panic only growing in response.

Faith’s spiralling is only interrupted when she feels a cool breeze licking gently at her now uncovered arms. Holding back a shiver she throws the blankets off her body as she gets up to investigate the source of the breeze. Once off the bed, the air feels cold and sufforcating, she presses on. Her bare feet padding softly against the uncovered hardwood of her bedroom as she moves towards the window above her bed.

“Huh?” Faith mutters to herself, mulling over her memories as she didn't remember leaving it open last night, fearful that she would get too cold in the middle of the night considering the current season. She probably just left it open without thinking, she’s been stressed lately so she wouldn’t put it past herself to do so.

Her eyes travel slowly from the newly closed window to her shelves, looking over her little collection of favourite objects in an attempt to clear her mind. As she takes in her little collection of found objects she finds herself smiling slightly.

Shaking herself out of her daze she moves towards her dresser to collect some of the clothes she’ll need for the new day. It's better to keep moving forward than to get stuck in her thoughts anyway.

She goes through her morning routine quickly after its initial hiccups, the actions of having her shower, breakfast and getting dressed running bringing her mind to a familiar and comforting place.

Her thoughts becoming relatively clear as she makes her way out of her house and begins her walk to school. As she walks down the road she finds herself feeling lighter than she had been the past few days. This, however, comes to an abrupt stop as she passes the woods that she usually uses to get to school quickly. Her mind suddenly going blank as she recedes back into a similar haze that she had found herself in during the past few days.

Her thoughts travel in that same repetitive cycle even as she moves through the rest of the morning, passing through her classes without thought or interaction. Her daze consisting of countless jumbled and unrelenting thoughts, and a constant, pricking fear coursing through her body at every movement she makes. Walking through the school's overbearing corridors with her signature quie and avoidant style. A walk she had picked up from years of being the black sheep of Forks High School.  
Her walking leads her into the cafeteria unconsciously, her body briefly forgetting the mental barriers she had put up about going there alone. Besides she had been avoiding Mia lately so she couldn't have made her own food today in the kitchen anyway. She travels through the line for food still trapped in her thoughts, seemingly completely unaware of the steadily growing murmurs around the room, questioning her presence.

Rumours that she sits out behind the school smoking pervading the discourse because Jessica Stanley had seen Faith out there a few times last winter when she was trying to find a spot to fool around with her latest boyfriend. Obviously, the brunette couldn't keep that particularly juicy Faith tidbit to herself.

The level of noise falls to a whisper as Faith takes a seat at the only empty table in the cafeteria, a small table towards the fire exit that the students have been avoiding for years because of its uneven legs. Her food tray clattering loud and unceremoniously onto the plastic-coated wood of the cheap school table. Its contents are quite miserable, some sloppy looking mac and cheese and a sandwich of mystery meat and a small milk carton sitting strewn about on the red food tray. The tired-looking brunette taking slow bites of her lack-lustre meal with her vacant eyes as she stares out the window beside the table.

A quiet whisper starts from another table slightly away from the rest of the groups in the cafeteria. The owner of the whispers eyes resting his gaze on the brunette across the room with an unreadable expression, mouth downturned into a contemplative frown at the girl's dishevelled appearance. The rest of the occupants of the table seem to also feel the disrupted aura emanating from the girl, their gaze slowly travelling between her and the two residents of the table who are now transfixed on her melancholy presence.

“Oh,” The fae-like resident of the table mutters gently, her brow furrowing at how out of sorts the girl seems to be. She turns to the rest of her table, her gaze now portraying her confusion. “Has something happened to Faith?”

“I’m not sure. She seemed slightly agitated and upset yesterday but the emotions she's feeling currently seem much more intense than what I had seen from her yesterday.” The male who responded lifting his gaze in a similarly questioning manner, unsure how to precede with how strong the emotions of the girl whom he has suddenly become quite drawn to as of late. His attention is drawn away from the subject of his staring by the whispers of their classmates becoming louder when they notice that the fawn-haired girl isn't leaving or trying to rebut their murmurs in any way.

“Oh my god, she's being all freaky again!” Comments a male voice that none of the Cullens can really attribute a name to. Laughter erupts from the direction the voice originates, their classmates agreeing with the faceless voice. The sounds dying down as he continues his tirade. “I bet she’s involved in those attacks or something, she's such a weirdo.”

“Yeah! Weird shit always happens around her. I swear she's like a magnet for bad luck or something, you know what happened to her parents.” Another faceless voice agrees from a different table, apparently having heard the current topic of conversation. Her voice lowers slightly as she switches into a sort of gossip-mode “She usually stays out of the way though, I don't think I’ve seen her eat out here in years.”

That makes Jaspers brow raise as he switches his focus back to his siblings, the rest of the students having quieted down to continue their wilder gossip. His eyes moving across his siblings, taking in their reactions to the newfound information. He pauses and raises his eyebrow when he reaches Edward and Bella, the two seemingly engaged in a silent conversation. They finish quickly and turn back towards the table with a more steely expression.

“Edward and I were in her biology class yesterday,” Bella pauses to consider her words, “She seemed distant, Jasper had seemed worried and mentioned that her emotions were pretty elevated after lunch so I asked Edward to take a look at what she was thinking and see if anything was wrong.”

“When I looked into her mind her thoughts were disjointed.” Edward frowns remembering what had happened the previous day, eyes darting from his siblings to the girl in question. “I only got to see her thoughts briefly before she lost it. She got excused from the lesson and didn't come back in the later periods.” He focuses his gaze towards the rest of his siblings. “I think she might have felt me trying to get in.”

“What?” Rosalie's eyes blow wide as looks at Edward and Bella. “She felt it and you didn't think to tell us? What the hell Edward.”

“I'm sorry, when she didn't come back I thought it was a one-time incident and she’d be fine when she came to school today.” His frown deepens as he wrings his hands together, his emotions portraying his genuine apology silently. “I really thought she’d be back to normal but it looks like she's worse. Sorry.”

“It’s okay Edward. You couldn’t have known.”

“I’d try looking at her thoughts again but I don't think it would go very well considering what happened last time. I think approaching her normal would be the best option.” As Edward retreats from the conversation with a small frown Jasper turns to his mate with a question on the tip of his tongue.

“Alice, have you seen anything?”

“No, I haven't seen any of the events surrounding her recently, the last vision I had concerning her was our first meetings.” Eyes widen around her as she continues to speak, “It's slightly concerning considering we’re our connection but I've never experienced anything like this so it might just be nothing to worry about.”

“I think it would be good to keep an eye on her anyway while trying to get to know her more.” Jasper turns to his siblings once again and watches them nod their heads in agreement. He once again turns his gaze towards Faith, his eyes hardening as he comes up with a plan of action. “I’ll go and sit with her and try to calm her slightly, enough to get through the day at least. I'm not sure if she'll last through the day otherwise.”

“That seems reasonable, just make sure to ease off on it if she reacts as she did with Edward, we don't want her to get more upset.” Jasper nods in his mate's direction, taking note of her frown and saddened eyes, it's hard to see their interesting little human this distressed. Even if she had only become known to them recently they had both undeniably felt the same spark they had when they first met all those years ago. It made them want to pursue her and coax her out of the shelf she had wound herself so tightly inside. It was a daunting task for the vampiric couple, though one they were starting to think they would be able to handle together.

The amber-eyed male stands up from his chair, glancing at Alice and the rest of his siblings before starting to walk towards the subject of their conversation. Faith, who was still staring into the distance as she had been since the start of the lunch period. Her eyes stay transfixed on a transparent nothingness up until she hears the scraping sound of the heavy metal chair moving across the linoleum as Jasper sits down.

The cafeteria suddenly seems quiet.

Faith is not sure if that's just her mind playing tricks on her and she's not sure if she cares. She feels like shit, she looks like shit and quite honestly wants to get through this day with as little interaction as possible. According to the sound of the chair across from her moving, God has forsaken her and her plans already.

She lifts her gaze, already mentally prepared to meet the eyes of one of the students that is less than a fan of her, and tell them to “fuck off” if the situation arises. (as it has quite a few times before). But as her green eyes meet stormy gold the words die in her throat. A feeling of calm that feels almost disgustingly artificial stretching through her mind and body.

Faith barely managed to stifle her shudder as the feeling takes a hold of her. The false pleasantries smothering her with its intensity. Her eyes wide and mouth slightly agape as she stares at the bronze coloured hair of one of her newest acquaintances. Jasper Hale. Faith briefly wonders if he's even real until he starts to speak to her.

“You okay ma’am?” He asks in that strangely southern drawl that could only belong to male Hale sibling. “I couldn't help but notice you seem a bit out of sorts today,” His brows furrow as his voice drops to a whisper as if the next piece of information is a secret to be just between the two of them. “My brother mentioned that you left class upset yesterday. He wanted to check on you himself but the two of you haven't spoken before so he worried you’d get agitated.”

His frown turns into a gentle smile, leaving his intentions clear and easily understood. His words denoted the truth, he was worried about her despondency today and had come to check up on her. The pit that had been bubbling away in Faith’s stomach suddenly widened at the revelation, threatening to swallow her whole.

It was overwhelming and confusing. She hadn’t had someone her age care for her like this in years and she and Jasper weren't even close friends, they were barely even acquaintances. How is she meant to process something she’s never experienced? She looks out the window once again utterly overwhelmed. Her eyes catch a glimpse of a bush moving in the distance and her paranoia from the past few days returns in full force. Her pulse thumping through her like the rhythm of a song.

A choked sob breaks its way out of the confines of her mouth before she has any hope of stopping it. Panic, that ragged emotion taking hold of her body and mind ripping apart the fragile control she had been exerting throughout the day. All this happening at the mere sight of an animal in the woods outside and a boy who was nice to her once? God, she feels pathetic.

The males gaze flashes from inquisitive to concerned in the blink of an eye as he feels Faith’s emotions tear through his layer of manipulated emotions with reckless abandon. His resolve being further shattered as he hears the noise she releases without meaning.

“Faith?”

“Um,” she pauses to shiver, attempting in vain to control the liquid emotion spilling down her cheeks. She takes in a deep, shuddering breath as she formulates the needed words. “Uh, I, -I think.” Another deep breath is taken as the girl wipes the sleeve of her jacket across her face. “I think I need to go somewhere now, yeah that's right, I need to go now.”

“See you soon I guess.” Is the last thing she manages to utter before the tears begin to spill out of her eyes even faster than before, the dam of her emotions has burst the fear and worry, flowing freely.

Jasper waves noncommittally at her retreating figure utterly confused, and somewhat distraught, over what had just occurred before him. He had expected she wouldn't be totally okay, but she looked like she was completely falling apart just now.

He feels the eyes of the rest of the students following his form as he walks back towards his family's table. Its residents staring at him, brows raised in a questioning manner, as if silently saying ‘what the hell happened?’ He frowns and shakes his head solemnly, he doesn't have a clue.

\----

Faith finds herself thundering through the hallways of the school building in a similar manner to how she left early only the previous day. The worn-down rubber soles of her shoes slapping against the rough over walked floors in a daunting rhythm. Her breath is heavy in her lungs as she desperately tries to breathe it in and out, in and out, in and out.

Her breathing doesn't begin to calm until she is well into the woods on the way to her home. The air feeling cleaner and easier to breathe than the stuffy constricting air of the overflowing school. She takes a deep, languid breath, hoping to savour this moment of calm. Something she hadn't really felt since the animal attacks began getting more devastating over the past week. A false, uneasy calm but calm nonetheless.

She feels fresh as she trudges through the undergrowth, her body on autopilot as she makes her way down the path and back towards her home with a newfound serenity settling inside her. Her hyperfocus on her own calm leading her to ignore the panic she had felt at seeing the woods already in the day, the very woods that played the starring role in her horrific yet forgotten dream.

As she climbs up to the cusp of the path and exits the woods she also fails to notice the ruby-red eyes that follow her every move.


	4. RED

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faith finds out what’s been troubling her but she’s in for a shocking surprise.  
> (Major tw for graphic violence/gore in this chapter!)

_Blood, so much blood._

_It's all she can see._

_The once stark white walls were now coated in the substance, a painting of brilliant red smeared across all surfaces of the room. Furniture soaked in the viscous liquid, its reach slowly spreading, seeping, into every crevice like water spilling from an overflowing glass. So much red. The stench of death lingering thick in the air, overbearing, suffocating, leaving no room for her thoughts._

_The blood was nauseating but the pain was unbearable._

_Her body ached in a way she couldn't describe. Limbs contorting unnaturally as she shook in place, bones snapping and then mending themselves back together in a never-ending cycle. Her blood felt thick in her body, pumping, pumping, pumping, she couldn't think of anything else. It felt as if her veins were on fire._

_Her pulse drummed in her head, like the steady dripping of a leaking faucet. Is that even her own pulse? She wasn't sure anymore. Her body felt like death. Her mind was spinning violently images of the bloody room morphed into faceless bodies, scenes, memories? She couldn't tell anymore. What was happening? Where was she? She couldn’t tell anymore. All she had was her aching body and red. So much goddamn red. She claws at her body, begging for some sense of control. Nails tear through skin painting her form the same brilliant red that coated her vision._

_Thick, thick blood. Red blood._

_Her head hurts._

_Her mouth ached with a thirst. Such a strong thirst. Her hands moved to claw at her neck, the thirst burning through her body with an intensity she had never known before. She opens her mouth to scream but no sound is released. Her shaking body is unable to make any noise. Her thought felt raw, had she been screaming before? She couldn’t tell anymore. All she can see is red._

_Red, red, red,_

_RED._

Faith’s eyes jolt open as she lets out an anguished cry, salty tears riveting down her clammy face. Her limbs tangled inside her bedsheets as she sits atop the solid mattress, breath heavy and languid inside her heaving lungs. The lasting residue of her nightmare coating her senses in a thick layer of fear. Her hands reach blindly towards the alarm she only now notices is blaring its obnoxious tune, slamming against it to silence its shrill cries. It goes quiet. Her own breathing now the only sound in the room.

She blinks, slow, shuddering blinks to clear the remnants of her tears as she brushes her sleeve across her face, the dampness now soaking into the cloth. Her legs shake as she kicks the blankets off of her body taking her time moving as her mind is so frayed. Her body, now uncovered, begins to shake less as it adjusts to the cool air of her room. Cool air?

Her eyes snap from their unfocused stare at the floor to her window, once again left slightly ajar. The dark green curtains fluttering gently in the morning breeze, the scent of dew on the wind. Normally Faith wouldn't think twice about her forgetting to close the window but not today. Today her mind is clouded by the paranoia that had been permeating every thought since the start of the attacks.

The brunette quickly scrambles up off the floor and towards the window, shutting it forcefully once her body reaches it. She looks through the window towards the world outside, scouring for something amiss amid the undergrowth. Nothing catches her eye and yet she draws the curtains closed tightly before turning around and surveying her room in a similar manner. The sickening feeling of being watched still permitting her mind even after the opening to the room is covered.

She staggers back towards her bed and falls on top of the mess of sheets with a shaky grunt, her body giving up on trying to support her weight. The tears that had momentarily halted during her panicked closing of the window promptly returning to her face.

Faith sits there in the fall out of her nightmare. Sobs racking her body as she descends into her paranoia-fueled panic. First the nightmare and then the window? What god had decided to forsake her today…

The girl pauses for a moment, interrupting her thoughts as she replays the words back to herself. Wait, what was that nightmare about? She tries harder to remember what has gotten her so worked up but no matter how hard she tries to recall the events of the dream, she can't. All she knows is that it was most definitely a nightmare, she doubts her body would have become so riled up if it was simply a dream. Her memories of the night, although minimal and clouded, were still more coherent than the previous night she couldn't quite remember, and to that, she clung.

She sits there, her body slowly going still as she calms down. Her breathing returning to a more normal level and the panic clouding her mind receding somewhat. Everything in our world has a cause, a root that creates the issue. There is nothing to worry about. She’s simply stressed about what's happening in town with the animal attacks and her newfound friendship? With the two Cullen siblings. (although she would hesitate to call herself friends with them yet, especially with how badly all of their previous encounters with them had gone as of late)

Yeah, that's it. Her dreams must be as a result of the stress of what's happening in her normally mild and subdued life. Faith’s mind starts drifting back to when her family disappeared, she had had similar dreams back then but they were nowhere near as impactful as the ones she was having currently. Usually only leaving her slightly more exhausted than she had been the night before.

Her alarms beeps again beside her, a warning beep that she had been taking too long to mull around in her thoughts. Her eyes widen in panic as she realises the time, picking herself off the bed quickly, her previous panic almost completely forgotten as she starts her routine. 

Faith drags herself through the morning, quickly getting ready for another tedious day at school. She exits her room and begins to walk down the hallway quickly, not wanting to be late for yet another day this week. As she continues down the hallway she passes down all of the usual doors without much thought. But as she continues her trek she starts to slow, her eyes focusing on the ajar door to the left side of her, her guardian Mia’s bedroom.

“Hey, Mia! Sorry about the past few days I was in a bad mood but I'm feeling a bit better now and want to make it up to you if possible."

The house remains silent, her words the only sound filling the air. Confused at the lack of response she calls out once again while continuing towards the entrance to Mia’s room. 

"Mia? I said I'm sorry, please don't give me the silent treatment. I'm not a child anymore."

She slows to a complete stop as she approaches the slightly open door. Her mind whirring as the panic from before re-establishes its hold on her psyche. Mia doesn't leave her door open, not now, not ever. In the two years, Faith had known the older woman there had been few constants, don't skip school, don't raise your voice and don't go into Mia’s room

The younger girl had always tried to obey her guardians reasonably innocuous requests, the door to Mia’s room always remaining firmly shut. She had no reason to disrespect her wishes so she never had. But now? 

The door was open and the house was unnervingly silent. No sounds coming from the inside its walls except the creaking of its frame being battered by the sound of the storm outside. Faith pauses at the thought, the wind outside whistling violently at the siding of the house. When did it start raining?

The door creaks open slightly more as she walks towards it. Her eyes widen as she looks around the hallway for a source to the sudden movement. Finding nothing to explain the movement she realizes that it was likely just the natural airflow within the house. Shaking the worrying thoughts out of her head she continues to walk towards Mia’s room, this time her pace slower and more hesitant.

She reaches the cusp of the room and looks in to see nothing in the darkness of the room. She reaches her hand into the room and blindly pokes around on the part of the wall closest to the door where the lightswitch to the room is located. Her hand grazes it and she flicks it on, bright fluorescent light filling the small room in front of her.

"Mia?"

She draws back her hand and holds it close to her chest as she looks inside the now lit room. Her eyes studying it for any visible signs of irregularity in the slightly messy room. Most of the room seems to be in order, papers and trinkets strewn around in the same kind of organised chaos that the rest of the house is in. Despite this Faith couldn't help but feel a gnawing worry at the back of her mind.

Stepping fully into the space she takes in the sight of the walls she could not fully see from the hallway. Tacky wallpaper older than herself coats the walls of the room, off-white carpet that had seen better days spread across the floor. The room didn't contain many actual items of furniture. Just a bed, a desk and a few bookcases. Though even without being very full this the room managed to feel full of life due to all of Mia’s possessions.

The brown-haired girl turns away from looking at the bed and moves towards the desk to look at the papers stacked on top of the desks' dark wood surfaces. It’s then when she notices a glimpse of matt black from beneath some documents regarding her school schedule. 

Shaking hands brush over the documents as she moves them to the side in order to reveal whatever she briefly caught a look at. Doing so reveals an open phone flipped onto its face, screen pointing down. Placing the documents down and out of the way she picks the phone up.

Huh?

It's Mia’s phone. Faith’s confusion grows as she takes in the fact that it’s Mia’s newest phone, the one that she’s still currently using. Mia never leaves her phone at home when she goes out, Faith having gotten worried about her when waking up alone in the house one too many times over the years.

She presses the power button on the side of the phone and watches the screen spring to life. She navigates from the lock screen onto the main screen, her confusion only growing as she realises that her guardian had been in the middle of attempting to make a call less than an hour ago. 

Why the hell was she trying to call Chief Swan that early in the morning?

She turns towards the stack of books that are being used in place of a bedside table, towards the digital clock at the top of the pile. Eight o'clock, so that call was made half an hour before Faith had woken up. 

She flips the phone closed and pockets it walking back out into the hallway. Her guardian had to be around the house somewhere. 

"Mia this isn't funny anymore. I get that you're probably upset with me but you should come out now! I'm going to be late coming to school because of you!"

She follows the hallway towards the front end of the house that holds the kitchen and other communal rooms. Hoping that maybe she had just been too immersed in something to hear the brunette girl's calls. 

As she passes the kitchen she pauses once again. The faucet is still running and there's food on the counter half prepared. 

"Mia? Come on please come out!"

Faith walks further into the kitchen, turning the faucet off and then looking down at the food on the bench. It's nowhere near finished, something must have distracted her enough to leave it. Which is odd behaviour considering that cooking is her favourite pastime, it was usually quite hard to drag her away from cooking.

She turns back the way she came and walks to the end of the hallway. Making her way into the room she scans the living room briefly, not initially noting the major thing wrong with the scene before her. As she scans the rest of the room she feels a breeze tickle her arm lightly.

Her eyes snap back towards the centre of the room, towards the front door thrown wide and open. With shaky steps, she walks towards the open door taking in the scene in more detail now that she's closer to it. The knob on the door is completely fine but the hinges of the door are almost destroyed. The thin metal torn through like a knife through flesh. 

She turns around and looks back down the way she came a scream ripping from her throat as she sees a shadowy figure darting across the room, too quick to see any definite deal but slow enough to make he know she was not alone in the house anymore and that whoever was with her was not her guardian at all. 

Her feet start working faster than her thoughts, the body’s base level instinct of fight or flight activated. Loud steps smash against the concrete pavers of the street beneath her as she runs away from her home. The sound of the rubber soles of her converse and her heartbeat pounding in her ears, snuffing out any of the sounds that could be heard around her.

Faith doesn't dare look behind her. Doesn't dare check to see if she’s been followed by whatever THAT THING was. All she can think to do is run, run faster than she had ever done so before. At the edge of the block, she loops around the pathway and runs back towards her house hoping whatever was in her house had run the other way in hopes of getting away.

She had to go back. 

She can’t just leave that house without knowing where Mia had gotten too. If she didn't she could be leaving her to whoever had broken in. After all, Mia has done for her she couldn't allow that. 

Running past her neighbours' houses she finally makes it back to her own house. Preparing to jump her fence and go back into her house and make sure that Mia isn't in there. 

She couldn't leave the other woman on her own. She just couldn’t

Grabbing the top of the fence Faith jams her foot into a broken section of planks and hoists herself over the top of the structure. The momentum ends up being more than she had expected causing her to lose her balance in the middle of her ascension and tip over the top of the fence. Crashing onto the hard soil of her back garden, a crunch sounding as she lands directly on Mia’s phone that had been left forgotten in her pocket.

Picking herself up off the ground she turns towards the back of the house. Her thoughts die inside her as she lets out a guttural scream at what she sees.

The body of a woman, thrown into the shrubbery towards the middle back of the garden. Her once light clothes painted a brilliant, vibrant red. 

“Oh my god.”

The brunette girl's body shakes as she walks towards the body, the morbid curiosity of being a human taking hold of her mind and forcing her to keep walking closer despite her desire to run far far away from whatever her life has become. Much like all the cars on a road slowing down to watch the aftermath of an accident.

As soon as she’s close enough to see recognisable features on the woman she immediately regrets her decision. It was plain and clear. This was Mia’s body. Despite the destruction, it was definitely her. The body's mangled state and the untouched face left completely clean of that viscous red liquid almost as if it were a bow upon a poorly wrapped gift.

For a second Faith ponders as to whether she could call the entrails leaking out of the woman the ribbon upon the gift. Though as soon as that thought passes her mind so does inescapable nausea at the fact that those kinds of thoughts could even cross her mind at this time. She falls down next to the body, accidentally touching some of the leakage, causing her to dry wretch hard enough for her to fall down next to the body. Barely enough time to turn her head and vomit her guts out in the other direction.

With her stomach empty and her mind full of static she gets up off the ground and makes her way through the back door of the house. Too deep in shock to notice the same red liquid as outdoors painting the walls and floor of the sections of the house that she hadn't checked earlier that day.

Her walk continues without her thoughts once again taking her out of her house and down the street. Not stopping once in her journey despite the numerous overlapping sounds of car horns that blare her way because of her bloody and dishevelled state as she makes her way to her one happy place. The one she had gone to enough in her life for its route to be mapped into her mind like a tattoo.

The woods between her house and her school.

As soon as she steps foot into the forest the smell of fresh air fills her lungs but she coughs it out like its ash. Continuing her walk mindlessly until she finds her legs failing as she falls down against a large rock deep into the heart of the woods. Fingers scraping against her neck in a vain attempt to stop the sobs wracking her small frame. The full intensity of the situation finally hitting her as she realises what she has just borne witness too.

Mia was dead.

Not just dead, mutilated.

Ripped to pieces 

The thought just makes her cry even harder mucus filling her throat as she screams in anguish. Nails ripping through her skin as she tries to hold herself together desperately. Her whole world falling apart in front of her once again.

“WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY!”

She screams until her throat is raw and then cry and wails and then starts the process all over again. 

In her agony, she doesn't notice the figure who had been following her every move creeping closer to her withering form. The figure who had been keeping their eyes on her ever since before she was even aware of anything out of the usual at all. Eyes that had traced her figure time and time again. The same eyes that had been attached to the body that has been sitting across from her in her room as she slept, so sweetly, so unaware.

What a beautiful creature lay before him. He had been enjoying this game of cat and mouse very much. But sadly it couldn't go on forever, could it? He’d have to end his fun sometime, after all, good things must come to an end. 

He’d just have to make sure that it was a brilliant end, worthy of how much fun she had been to play with. The rest of the people in her life were simply wasting her potential as a canvas. That simply would not do now, would it?

Yes. She was much more deserving of him and his methods.

He walks towards his prize. Laying there so serene and unaware. 

He had been having so much fun seeing her almost pick up on the hints he was leaving for her. After all, he had been pursuing her for quite some time. It was a shame she didn't notice them sooner. Though he couldn't say he hated taking all of her family as collateral, it was only fair for how long she had left him waiting

He licks his lips as he crouches down beside her shaking form, so pretty terrified. 

How good would she taste?

A morsel savoured is surely better than one tasted any other way.

He grasps her arm harshly and turns her over so she's facing him. Petrified green eyes meeting hungry red as the two figures stare at each other, eyes locked in an intense and sudden connection. Faith’s body stilling to a violent tremble as a new wave of shock takes over her body at the sight of the strange new figure in front of her. She riggles slightly attempting to get out of this strange man’s stern grip, eyes going even wider as she feels his grip tightening on her body.

A tongue glides across smiling lips as the figure readies to strike at his target, taking in the final light of fear within Faith’s eyes before he plunges his fangs into her neck brutally. A scream rips from her throat as she flails around violently trying to shake her attacker off but his larger frame keeps her pinned to the damp forest floor she had taken refuge on only minutes before.

Once satisfied with the amount of blood taken from the neck of the girl beneath him he begins to bite around on various parts of her body laughing maniacally every time his feverish assault elicits a scream or cry from her throat.

After what feels like hours of torture her body stills beneath his touch, her blood depleted and his venom taking hold of her veins. Seeing her unmoving form the man picks his body up off the group and moves away slightly to admire his artwork. He grabs a cigarette out of his pocket and lights it before taking a drag and smiling slightly as he looks down at the mess he's made of his target. A brilliant painting of red splattering the ground below him.

The game was worth it for his prize.

He sighs, only slightly disappointed at how long she lasted. For he had hoped she could have lasted a tiny bit longer considering all of the work he put in to get her. His pace is slow and easy as walks away from the scene. Before he can get too far from the girl's body his leg is stopped by a cold force. Looking down towards his now stopped leg he sees a pale limb grabbing his ankle, following to his source he spots the girl whom he thought to be dead. Unable to do anything he watches in horror as his ankle is snapped under the force of the hand, his body falling harshly to the forest floor with a thud. He screams out loudly at the agony, his body on fire with pain.

Unable to move or run he looks back towards his assailant, locking eyes with her once again. But unlike before her eyes a brilliant red, the same red that is mirrored in his own sockets. The pupils fade and distort before the iris swallows the colour of the eye, turning them a harsh and soulless black. The sign of hunger. He starts to kick at her, but a newborn is at its most powerful when it needs to be fed and right now Faith is insatiable.

All he can do is claw desperately at her as she scales his body and digs her fingernails into his arms. Ignoring his desperate, pitiful screams, in favour of looking inquisitively at the small amount of blood she was able to draw from jamming her fingers into him. She leans down close to the blood to take a tentative sniff. 

Immediately her gaze snaps from the small wound to the man's jugular as she dives in with her fangs having recognised the scent of her food source based only on newfound instincts. Taking a large chunk out of the man’s neck in her haste, a raw scream ripping through his throat before it soon fades and becomes nothing but a gurgle as the blood spurting begins to fill his throat and lungs. Faith continues her feast without pause, savouring the taste of her newest delight. The heart of the man below her beating slower and slower until it's beats echo no longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely happy with this chapter at the moment so I might end up re-writing it in future. Other than that I'm super excited to be past the opening section of this fic! I can finally start to explore the dynamic of our main three soon which is something I'm super excited about!
> 
> Thanks for all of the support of this fic!


End file.
